Charissa King O'Brien, Filmmaker

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The Paper Mirror

3 stars – “Filmmaker Charissa King-O’Brien’s The Paper Mirror tells the story of a cross country collaboration between two artists who are both in a process of transition. Chicago-based Riva Lehrer came to prominence through her portraits of disabled subjects seen in a variety of fanciful scenarios, while East Coast-based Alison Bechdel made her mark with the decade-long comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. Lehrer teams up with Bechdel to create a new work – photographs of Bechdel that depict the writer’s mother as her shadow, a reflection of the book Bechdel is working on, Are you My Mother? Sure to be appreciated by Bechdel’s legions of fans, this is recommended.”

K. Fennessy , Excerpt from Video Librarian, Sept./Oct. ‘13

One of “The Paper Mirror’s strengths is its depiction of Bechdel at an interesting career crossroads. The cartoonist may have followed up the ending of her long-running comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For” with her well-received graphic memoir “Fun Home.” Yet it’s clear her discomfort at dealing with her thorny relationship with her mother has hampered her ability to complete her follow-up graphic novel. The brassy Lehrer provides a wonderful counterpoint to Bechdel. The painter is someone who can turn wearing rainbow shoelaces into an act of defiance. More importantly, her process of creating the painting triggers some new sense of creative awareness in the cartoonist. The end result of the two women’s artistic collaboration yields a highly satisfying work of psychological insight.